6th Annual Bartowski Christmas Movie Marathon
by brickroad16
Summary: At the annual Bartowski Christmas movie marathon, Sarah clashes with Ellie over her 'friends' status with Chuck.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a lot different from my first story, but I hope you like it.**

** Disclaimer: As always, no copyright infringement is intended. _Chuck _and its characters do not belong to me. **

* * *

Sarah moved to give Ellie a hug, but stopped when the latter abruptly turned and walked into the living room. Sarah paused, a bit caught off guard. Ellie was usually the effusive one.

"Morgan and Chuck are out picking up some movies and last-minute snacks," Ellie said coolly. "You can sit down if you want."

"Thanks. How have you been?" Sarah asked, trying to win her over with a bright smile.

"I'm fine. Do you want a drink?"

Sarah shook her head, and watched Ellie walk into the kitchen and give Awesome a kiss on the cheek. He smiled, not looking up from the cookie he was frosting. Anna sat across from him, decorating sugar cookies in the shapes of Santa Clauses, Christmas trees, bells, and candy canes. Sarah's heart dropped as memories of decorating cookies with her sister came rushing over her. She could have this. She could have a life like this with Chuck. And right now she badly wanted to.

But she also wanted to know why Ellie was acting so distant.

"Hey, Ellie?"

"Yeah?" Ellie called back from the kitchen without looking towards her.

"Did I do something wrong?" She said it loudly enough for her voice to reach the kitchen, and couldn't help that Awesome and Anna heard too.

Awesome raised his head a little, looking slightly uncomfortable. Ellie stopped in the middle of grabbing a mug from the cupboard, her hand poised in midair. She sighed, turned, and strode back into the living room.

"It's just," Sarah began, her voice softer, "you've been a little . . . aloof ever since Chuck and I broke up."

Ellie stared as if she shouldn't have had to ask, and Sarah regretted bringing it up.

"It's not really my place to . . ." she trailed off, not quite knowing how to criticize Sarah gently.

"To what? If I've done something, I'd rather you let me know instead of treating me differently because of it." Sarah forced herself to breath steadily; getting angry would only exasperate things.

"Sarah, I don't know you that well, but I do know that Chuck likes you very, very much. You're the best thing to happen to him in a long time." Ellie paused again, searching for the words. "He told me that you guys were just friends now. And I understand that. But I can't help thinking that you're just stringing him along, and setting him up to get his heart broken."

Sarah, angry that Ellie could think that of her, felt her face redden slightly.

"If you're not as serious about your relationship as he is," Ellie continued, "I'd never forgive myself if I let you hurt him."

Sarah sank onto the couch. Hadn't she always hated those girls? Those girls who would flirt with guys only to leave them in the dust?

Maybe Ellie was right. Maybe she was using her friendship with Chuck to hide something else. Maybe they were spending entirely too much time together to be merely platonic friends.

But then again, maybe it was Christmas and it was meant to be spent with family and friends.

"Ellie, I," Sarah stopped, unsure of how to tell the truth without blowing their cover but also without revealing her own deeper feelings, "I have no intention of stringing him along. I really, really like him, but there are . . . things in my past that keep me from . . . from opening up to people. There's nothing I would love more than to have a relationship with him. Now's just not the right time. I swear to you, Ellie, I would never intentionally hurt him. But he really is the best friend I have, and I'd rather not lose that just because there are things I need time to figure out."

Sarah sighed. She wasn't used to having heart-to-hearts. She was much better with the fist-to-face kind of thing.

Ellie felt horrible. This was the most consecutive sentences Sarah had said to her. And she had to go and be mean to her during Christmas. She sat down dejectedly next to her on the couch.

"I'm the only family he's got. I guess I feel that if I don't look out for him, no one will."

Sarah smiled slightly, "I can understand that." Hadn't she felt exactly the same about her own sister?

"Forgive me?" Ellie asked, holding out her arms for a hug.

Sarah nodded, and it wasn't until she embraced Ellie that she realized she missed being a sister.


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, Morgan, it looks like we've missed the female bonding," said Chuck from the doorway.

"Dudes," said Morgan, "Are you guys ready for the 6th Annual Bartowski Christmas Movie Marathon?!?"

"Chuck!" Ellie exclaimed, rising from the couch. "Did you get the mini marshmallows for the hot chocolate?"

"You know I did!" He retrieved them from the grocery bag in Morgan's arms.

Ellie grabbed them from his hand and headed back to the kitchen to make the hot chocolate. Morgan followed, where he could admire Anna's cookie-decorating prowess.

After Chuck cleared his throat, the living room became noticeably quieter than the bustling kitchen.

"Hi," Chuck said breathlessly, setting the movies down on the end table. Sarah looked beautiful, as usual. But something about Christmas and Sarah made his breath catch in his throat, made him feel like he was eight years old again.

She smiled a little awkwardly back, "Hi."

"You and . . . you and Ellie, everything okay?"

She rose from the couch and walked toward him. "Yeah, everything's fine." She glanced toward the kitchen, where Ellie was vigorously mixing the milk and hot chocolate powder. "I think we're beginning to understand each other a bit better."

"Good. Good." He swallowed.

Sarah wasn't sure how to interact with him. Was a hug beyond the boundaries of friendship? A kiss, even on the cheek, definitely was, but a hug? She didn't want to risk it, so just stood in front of him and said, "Listen, I wanted to thank you. I haven't gotten to celebrate Christmas the past few years."

"And now you get to celebrate it in such a unique way!"

They grinned. His grin was so adorable that Sarah almost wanted to kiss him and blame it on the mistletoe that actually was hanging over his head, but Ellie saved her from that awkward moment by emerging from the kitchen, laden with a tray of mugs full of hot chocolate. Captain Awesome was a step behind her with the frosted cookies, and Morgan and Anna came in with the rest of the snacks.

"Okay, Sarah," Morgan said, "since you are the newest addition to our fold, you get to choose the first movie."

"I'm honored, Morgan," Sarah replied, watching Morgan and Chuck dump the movies out onto the table so she could make her choice. "Wow. That's a lot of movies."

"What's with all these musicals," Anna asked, "_The Wizard of Oz_, _Meet Me in St. Louis_?"

"Babe, musicals are classic Christmas viewing," Morgan explained, his mouth full of gingerbread.

"Yes!" Chuck shouted excitedly, "Name me one musical you wouldn't want to watch at Christmastime."

"_Fiddler on the Roof_?" offered Awesome.

"Ahh. Forgot about that one."

Ellie piped up with a smile, "Actually, I think the musicals are just remnants from Chuck's days of crushing on Judy Garland."

"Hey! Hey now! Judy Garland is a very pretty lady."

"Dude!" Morgan exclaimed. "I remember that!"

"Chuckles, that'd be less creepy if she weren't dead," said Anna with a laugh.

Awesome's opinion, that "No, no, because she'd be like, _ninety_ if she were alive, which is totally creepier than a drug addict even half that age," was more than enough to send Sarah into a laughing fit.

And Chuck's embarrassed face only made her laugh harder.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she choked out. "What's this one?" She pointed to a DVD that she'd never seen before.

Morgan stopped laughing abruptly. "You've never seen _Elf_?"

Chuck seemed almost as incredulous as Morgan. "She's never seen _Elf_!"

Two and a half movies, three mugs of hot chocolate, and nine sugar cookies later, Sarah was close to falling into a comfortable, sugar- and sleep-induced stupor. Ellie and Awesome were already asleep on the other side of the couch, but Morgan and Anna were still holding onto consciousness snuggled in the easy chair.

Chuck had been keeping a respectable few inches of distance between them the entire night, but with no one else paying attention to them, she felt relaxed enough to close that distance by leaning her head on his shoulder. He shifted slightly, but let her cuddle into him. Her eyes were heavy, and she wasn't sure she could make it through all of_It's a Wonderful Life_, but she couldn't help thinking that this was the best Christmas she's had in a long time.

As long as Ellie didn't wake up first, to find her, with a smile on her face, snuggled in a very more-than-friendly way against Chuck


End file.
